Cherish Connections

Our last Cherish gathering for the girls, was a wonderful success.  The Mustard Seed has a total of seventeen girls in it's school support program.  Fourteen were able to attend the latest Cherish Day, the largest get together of our girls for a Cherish event.  

The early arrivers.

The Cherish Days function as a support group gathering for the Mustard Seed girls.  A time when they receive information, talk about matters of concern for them, and hang out together.  A number of the board members lead the group.  In addition, this time one of our Big Sisters showed up, and she too made a significant contribution to the fun and learning of the day.  My role is to take a few pictures, do a bit of back ground organization and stay out of the way.  

Sharing and learning opportunities.

Lesotho has a culture with different time constraints, or lack thereof.  The first group of girls arrived a half hour late, the last girl arrived four hours later, but still it was a time to be together and for developing and deepening friendships with their Mustard Seed 'sisters'.

The smiles I see on faces is something I always delight in.  Maybe it is a visible demonstration in the lives of the girls that what the Mustard Seed provides is making a difference.  Many of them come from such hurting situations, situations where they feel a burden and often receive only the basics of a place to stay and a bit of food on their plate.  Even, at a Cherish event, some visibly carry a weight on there shoulders that shows on their faces.  I think Cherish offers an oasis, if but for a brief moment, where they can let go of some of their cares and amidst the activites, the learning, and the FOOD, they can smile.


(Food:  I thought the amount of food on hand would be way too much, but fourteen active, hungry girls showed otherwise as there was not a crust left over.)

One of the exercises the girls did was to provide some feedback to the recently hired program coordinator for the Mustard Seed.  In reviewing their comments, I was further reminded that I still do not fully grasp the lives our girls live.  A repeated comment was how much they appreciated someone contacting their schools and teachers on their behalf; someone visiting them at their schools;  someone for whom them succeeding in school mattered.

They wrote how much it meant to them that the Program Coordinator, 'M'e Matseliso, told them they were loved, that God loved them, and that she encouraged them to persevere.    

I understand from past experiences that not all of our girls will succeed in school.  Not all will make wise choices.  I reflect on two girls who have left the program, and whose lives, on their own, have known pain and struggle.  Yet both of them are persevering.  They have not given up.  My prayer for the fourteen at the last Cherish is that they too will continue to persevere despite the obstacles they face, and as they persevere that they will be encouraged to dream bigger dreams, and in God find the courage and strength to achieve greater heights than they had thought possible.

~ Benno ~